Failure to use BVAS overshadowed its positivity –Igini, ex-INEC REC

A former Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Mike Igini, explains in this interview on Channels TV Sunrise Daily, which was monitored by Deborah Onyofufeke, that failure to effectively use the BVAS machine may have resulted in the lapses in the February 25 presidential election, among other issues

A lot of people had high hopes over the conduct of the February 25 presidential elections, but there had been criticisms after the exercise, what do you think went wrong and where does that leave us?

Campaigns were based on the 2022 Electoral Act, and the processes and procedures were to bring about a credible election in our country. As you all know, for over 30 years, I have been on this path. I have not spoken to anybody, but I have received over 2,500 messages all making inquiries from those within Nigeria and those abroad. They are asking me so many questions, but just one major question bordering on the fact that I campaigned on the BVAS, I spoke about process and procedure, this is true, but I said everything based on the law as contained in section 60, section 64 plus 38, the basic ABC’s on the process, I spoke on all of that. I did that without being paid and so the question people have been asking is how come the election that attracted the highest attention in our history that on that day, Igini, what you said, did not happen concerning the presidential election. Now, I have not spoken for this long because I also needed an answer to the information of everybody out there. I left INEC in August last year, I had the opportunity to assess the numerous consultancy offers from politicians in our country but I said no, having been part of the team that designed this process that the best thing is to remain neutral after all if I’m to accept those consultancy proposals what I will never give as a severance package which is N5m, I would have got that 10 times. The issue relating to the non-upload of the presidential election results has now overshadowed every other positive of the BVAS that remains a game changer. So, on why that did not happen and many have written messages to me, I said my education ended on the 24th of February the issue about why that did not happen, should be the Commission. I was not part of the implementation, it is those who are there that should answer because good luck, and innovations are not self-executory. I said that over and over again, it requires people to do so. So, concerning that right now, those matters are now before the courts, so, it is the judiciary that will do that now. As a lawyer, you know I cannot delve into that but Nigerians know me that when a matter moves, I will speak on any subject matter because I fought for democracy.

Yes, Mr Igini, the thing about this is that those issues might be in the courts, but in terms of when the kind of explanations that the Commission has given and the answers that you were seeking could you tell us whether or not well if you’re satisfied or you got the answers that you were seeking because everybody saw what transpired so what can you say about that?

I’m saying that up to this point, I don’t even have the answer to that, it is the Commission that should answer that question. Unfortunately somehow, they will also be circumscribed at this point because people are not ready. In the tribunal, the judiciary, as I have said over, people can go and check the interview we had that as we are narrowing down, three agencies are keying out of the six that are identified. So, a successful election is a multi-sectorial responsibility. I mentioned to the Commission that we have to be in the driver’s seat and remain in the driver’s seat and the only body saddle with the constitutional responsibility to midwife democratic Commission in our country. Again, security is very key, and the third is the judiciary, and the trinity of these three institutions would determine whether the institution representing democracy will have a hopeful future in our country.

There were complaints about the BVAS and the result uploading process, what were the mix-ups in your view?

Understandably, the presidential election was the most coveted election that those who came from outside the country, if I’m to share the messages, are those who said they came from Malta, Canada, and Australia and that the only reason that brought them back to Nigeria was Mr Igini. You are educated on this, some of them did not even vote because of the activity of extra-constitutional actors that prevented them from voting. Now the point we are making is that the BVAS, because of what happened, has overshadowed the huge positive that it (BVAS) has brought. There’s a need to separate the BVAS and failure to use it, they are two things that must be separated. It is not true that the BVAS has failed because I have not got the explanation of why what happened, happened. I didn’t want to speak on this matter because of what I’m now hearing, Nigerians are now sending messages that they are not going to participate in the forthcoming governorship election. Well, if not for the BVAS, all those who have been posting figures in millions in the previous elections without BVAS, did any candidate produce millions from his state? It didn’t happen. If not for BVAS, who would have known that an okada rider (commercial motorcycle rider) that does not have a godfather could win an election? If not for the BVAS like I told everyone, the National Assembly, and the senate, cannot be retirement homes with the BVAS coming, it will not be automatic retirement homes for governors as they will spend their final term, who don’t have the right to contest for a senatorial election which before the era of BVAS, becomes automatic. We can now see that the National Assembly cannot just be an automatic retirement home for governors. BVAS has brought sanity to the pulling unit where before now at the end of the poll, there is an organised crime they call sharing of our unused ballots. Fraudulent practices from Abia to Zamfara, by way of alphabetical order, BVAS has put an end to the sharing by party agents, the connivers with poll officials of what we call the unused ballots.